Businesses have understood the advantages of having a solid social media presence for both customer service and long-term marketing. However, these companies also need to realize the social media security issues, and how an employee’s own presence on networking sites can increase the business’ security woes. For this reason, some companies already prevent internal access while others do not allow employees to have any sort of corporate association outside the workplace on social networking platforms. These steps might seem unnecessarily harsh, but they make sense considering what an employee says publicly outside work often affects the organization’s reputation.

However, following the steps for social media security given below a company can avoid security issues:

Include Social Media Security in Your Company Policy

A company will find it easier to regulate employee access and set rules for suitable behavior by drafting social media policies. These policies need to specifically mention what an employee can and cannot say, including abusive language, slang, negative words etc. It is also the responsibility of the employer to ensure social media security by training their employees on the proper use of words.

Think About a No-Employment Disclosure

Employers can request their employees to leave the employment status on their social networking profile blank. An employer represents his/her organizations around the clock, and so what he/she says either on the job or during their free time has a direct impact on the image and reputation of the employer. In some cases, the words of the employee can be used against the company.

Employees Get Limited Access to Social Networks

Social networking sites are plentiful on the Internet, and while some of them are more or less appropriate, others are not very secure. If an employee is associated with a social network that is not very reputable and is known for off-color content, it might affect your company in a negative way later. So, make sure your social media security policy mentions which kind of social networking platforms are acceptable.

Make Sure IT Personnel are Suitably Trained

In a company, procedures and policies happen from the top down. IT personnel and managers should be tasked with managing the technology required to get employees up to speed with the risks of using social media in a negligent manner, and setting suitable leadership examples.

Never Totally Block Social Media

Removing access to social media entirely exposes a company to other business security issues. Employees who wish to access social networks will do it in any way, and when something like this happens, they might bypass firewalls, making the company’s network increasingly vulnerable.

Various organizations have turned to social media for promoting their brands, connecting with buyers and relaying information. However, the rising popularity of this platform brings its fair share of social media security threats, ranging from unexpected lawsuits to leakage of proprietary details.

1. Problem with Mobile Applications

Social media security threats, unfortunately, owe a lot of their growth to the rise of mobile computing, which has evolved into a massive industry involving the development of mobile applications. It is common for employees to download different apps on their own mobiles or the devices granted by their companies.

These downloads are not always safe and some contain malware that leaks the private information of the user to a third party, impersonates the individual, removes necessary data and spreads to other devices without warning. Thus, discretion is necessary while browsing the Internet to download the latest applications.

2. Social Engineering

One of the oldest scams in the book, social engineering on the Internet also happens to be one of the most proactive social media security threats due to the fact that your personal details might easily be divulged online and it relies on the trust factor to dupe you into revealing important information, such as your passwords. Numerous people are every month and those who fall prey understand just how dangerous social media can be and what the outcome is like if you let your guard down.

3. Compromised Networking Site Security

A few hackers choose to inject harmful code directly into social networking websites, thereby compromising the entire security of the site. These malicious content usually crop up in the form of third-party apps and inside ads. Clicking a few links on social networking sites may seem harmless enough but this could also become social media security threats since your personal details might get stolen without your knowledge.

4. Dealing with Your Employees

You should always make your employees understand the risks posed by social media security threats and even though it might seem like overkill, constant reminders would at least make them think twice before becoming falling for clickbait. Even your most responsible employee might sometimes suffer a lapse in judgement and commit a big mistake.

Social media seems like a lot of fun but it has its disadvantages as well and once you post content, even if you remove it afterwards, there ought to be at least a few people in your network who might have seen that. So, if one of your employees becomes emotional and rants about you or the work on social media, there is a possibility that it could endanger your company account and harm your brand.